The corpse stood, looking around with eyes completely devoid of emotion or expression. While Aldric remained put aswell, trying to piece together what exactly was going on, Al already knew the Knight had been going easy on him. He wasn't certain of the extent of its telekinesis, but it could at least have been used to disarm him, since he had seen the Knight use it on the black star blade just before the main trial—yet the Knight did not make use of it again during their fight. Instead, the corpse before him seemed to have that very ability.
It couldn't be unrelated. After all, it was the Knight's soul essence that possessed the dead body before it began moving.
That would mean the soul essence could not only be put into a corpse to give it some kind of life, but it would also give said corpse one to all of the abilities owned by whom the soul essence was extracted from.
The corpse looked down at the broken sword, then glanced back up at Aldric, and there, in a short moment of exchanged gaze, Aldric felt hostility from the corpse—and with a blur, it disappeared.
Eyes widened in panic, Al's pupils shot across his eyes in search of the undead.
"It's... behind me?"
This was a realization that came far too late for the Awakened. As the severed blade the corpse wielded was now mere inches from cutting through his flesh, Aldric was defenseless against it, yet the attack wasn't followed through.
As he turned around, he saw the corpse holding the sword mere inches from him, but seemingly unable to move further, a visible struggle shown from it as it subtly vibrated in place. For assured safety, Aldric still distanced himself from the corpse, but before he could even take a fifth step, it was before him, swinging its severed blade once more, only to freeze before it reached Aldric like prior.
Aldric turned to the corpse, intrigue flashing in his eyes as he gazed at the undead.
"You can't harm me... can you?"
Aldric smiled as he looked into the inky darkness of the corpse's eyes, and as he did so, the darkness suddenly vanished, the eyes of the human returning as the corpse ragdolled to the floor.
[Soul Extinguished]
'Huh... No... No.'
Aldric panicked at the notification, as it meant that a soul essence had been completely used up.
"A soul essence the Knight... wasted on a dead body attacking me?"
Aldric felt slightly devastated at the loss, but he consoled himself with the fact he had learned a little bit more about his affinity—which was turning out to be far more powerful than he had first assumed.
'Status'
======
[Aldric Voss]
[Saviour of Nothing]
[Retribution]
======
Markings: [The remainder] [A false existence]
Affinity: [Death] | S.E: 5 (Base)
Rank: [Warrior(3)]
Xai Energy (XE) Reserve: 5/100
Returns: (0/0)
----------
As expected, Aldric found an explanation for feeling drained in his status window. His Xai energy had been almost entirely depleted, and if he were to guess, it was most likely from the Knight's soul essence. For it to be extinguished meant it was being used, and the usage of soul essence depletes Aldric's Xai the quickest.
He walked over to where his sword lay, picking up the artifact, examining it for a moment, before storing it away. He took a deep breath, inhaling the smell of blood and rotten bodies one final time before turning to the large stone door, which had opened since the Knight's death.
With measured, conclusive steps, carrying a sense of pride, Aldric walked out of the temple—a far different man than when he had entered.
He strolled across the dungeon's jungle, pictures of a hot bath and a good night's rest filling his head, causing him to feel a great sense of relief and delight, further amplified upon seeing the dungeon rift not too far from him.
Aldric stopped upon reaching it. He turned back, taking in the dungeon one last time. Then, with a slightly dramatic exhale, he turned around and walked through the glowing rift.
He could feel the warmth of the sun dance upon his skin and its fading rays reach his eyes as the star dipped behind the horizon. Aldric took a deep breath, inhaling the fresh air before opening his eyelids to quite the scene.
Awakened—armored and battle-ready—gathered in front of the rift Aldric had just exited. Alongside them were a few individuals wearing dark clothing and suites, as if they were funeral attendees. However, one thing they all shared was the bewildered expression etched on their faces upon seeing Aldric.
"Who... are you, what are you doing here?" one of the armored Awakened asked.
Aldric noticed something among the gathering: they were not ordinary people and far different from the group he had entered the dungeon with. Whether it was their armor, demeanor, or weapons, everything pointed to this fact. The Knight had also mentioned that stronger people had been entering the dungeon, leading Aldric to conclude that this dungeon had been bought by a formidable guild.
"I was taking a stroll and got lost," Aldric lied. He didn't remember much from the Awakened handbook, but he was certain that entering an owned dungeon without permission definitely meant jail time in the Awakened Detainment Center. It's one thing to be confined with criminals, but being confined with criminals with super human abilities was a long day.
"So how did you get into the dungeon?" the man asked again.
"I tripped, it was an accident," Aldric fibbed, bad lies rolling off his tongue as smoothly as they possibly could.
Then, the rift behind him began to crackle aggressively. Sparks shot and flew everywhere as the rift expanded and condensed rapidly before completely disappearing, leaving only silence.
The armored man's voice deepened, and his eyes narrowed—tension thick enough to chew on, filled the air.
"Pardon my curiosity... but could it be, you cleared an extreme danger-level dungeon by 'accident' as well?"